77% of German entrepreneurs still fax as digital ID cards debut in May.
Germany is rolling out digital ID cards and promising a new era of online bureaucracy, but the nation’s entrepreneurs are still reaching for the fax machine.
This month, the government announced that photos for ID cards and residence permits must now be submitted digitally, with new in-office terminals and even the option to have your shiny new Ausweis delivered by mail – for a fee, naturally. It’s all part of a broader push to drag German paperwork into the 21st century.
But while the digital dream marches on, the analog reality is alive and well. According to research by Germany’s digital association BitKom, a whopping 77 percent of German entrepreneurs still use fax machines. The reasons? Take your pick: legal requirements, ingrained habits, or just the comfort of a familiar whirr and beep.
The situation has inspired both exasperation and humor. Digital services platform FINOM recently staged a tongue-in-cheek marketing stunt, faxing messages to small businesses from the perspective of a weary machine begging for retirement. In Berlin, passersby could spot fax machines on the street spitting out notes like “Ich mach jetzt schluss mit faxen” (“I’m done with faxing now”) and “Ich bin fax und fertig” (a pun on “fix und fertig,” meaning “I’m wiped out”).
For many, the enduring love affair with fax is a symbol of German bureaucracy’s stubborn streak. A recent reader survey by The Local found that paperwork and long wait times remain top stressors for residents. One reader even suggested picking up a cheap fax machine at the local flea market to help navigate the system – a tip offered with a wink, but not entirely in jest.
Meanwhile, the digitalization push continues. Alongside the ID card shake-up, May brings new rules for biowaste, changes to surname laws, and a calendar full of public holidays and “bridge days” – those magical long weekends that Germans maximize with strategic vacation days.
So, as Germany gears up for a future of digital IDs and online forms, don’t be surprised if your next official document still arrives with a familiar fax header. In a country where tradition and technology often share the same desk, the analog and the digital are learning to coexist—one beep at a time.
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